His American girlfriend, actress Meghan Markle (35), remained in London while the Prince carried out his duties.

She has been staying at Kensington Palace all this week, arriving on Tuesday - the day Prince Harry issued a strongly-worded statement asking for privacy for Miss Markle.

It is thought likely the Californian actress will be introduced to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this weekend.

After paying his respects at the Armed Forces Memorial, the Prince read aloud the words of The Soldier by First World War poet Rupert Brooke.

Harry served for 10 years in the Army and was twice deployed to Afghanistan.

The prince was joined by hundreds of old soldiers and the loved ones left behind to mourn the dead, observing the silence in the chill autumn sunshine, in a mirror of services held across the country. Lieutenant Colonel David Whimpenny, chairman of the National Memorial Arboretum and trustee of its parent charity The Royal British Legion, said: "Today, led by Prince Harry, we paid tribute to the servicemen and women that have sacrificed their lives for their country, from the First World War to the current day."

Afterwards, Harry saw some of the 16,000 names carved into the cream-coloured memorial commemorating those who have fallen on active service since 1948.

He took his time as he walked past the rows upon rows of names, pausing by those who died in 2015 and also during the Falklands War in 1982. Later, Harry took the salute from a parade of serving and former servicemen and servicewomen.

Meanwhile, in Belfast, approximately 1,000 people gathered for a two-minute silence in the Garden of Remembrance at the City Hall.